LetYourSpiritGrow.com Blog

I was struggling today to try and figure out what to write about. At present I am fully medicated on prescription antibiotics, (sinus and lung issues) my place is a mess, my cat is demanding, and all I want to do is pull the covers over my head and go back to sleep! Some days, it’s even hard for me be motivated, let alone continue my path of learning and Spiritual growth!

What do I do on days like this? I make myself move first of all. Like countless other people out there I talk to myself and try to motivate myself to get going. I give myself positive messages and encouragement to help myself as I go along. Messages like “okay just wash half those dishes and then you can have a cup of tea” (5 minute meditation anyone?) Or “I really don’t want to fold this laundry, but I am proud of myself for doing it all, and how great does it feel that it is done now?”

Whether you say it out loud or silently, giving yourself positive messages and encouragement are all methods of Self Hypnosis. We do this every day without even thinking about it. An example of this is when you drive your car home and don’t remember how you got to your driveway or at what point you took “x route “ home ~that is Self Hypnosis!

The word Hypnosis is something that often provokes fears, insecurity, uneasiness, and sometimes even mystical or magical ideas to people, but Hypnosis is none of those. Being in a Hypnotic state is something that we do a lot, and we don’t even realize it. Think of that moment when you are just about to fall asleep. Your whole body feels relaxed and heavy, and it seems too much effort to open your eyes or even move a limb. That is a Hypnotic state. You have allowed yourself to relax, not only you body but your mind as well. It is at that time, that you may start to dream or have random thoughts or images. What you are doing is allowing your subconscious mind to be present. You are allowing yourself to relax and receive whatever information is there for you. Are you still in control? Could you make yourself wake up if you wanted to? Of course you could. You are still in control of your mind and your body, just as would be in a Hypnotherapy session.

That is the entire basis of Hypnotherapy. You are the one who is in control. You decide what direction you want to go in and what you want to work on. My job as a Certified Hypnotherapist is to be your guide, and to help you reach that relaxed state, but you still have all the control. I don’t use magic, I don’t use fear, I don’t “do” anything to you, you do it all to yourself when you allow yourself to let go.

What can you work on in a Hypnotic state? The simple answer is anything you want to, and that you are open and honest, and willing to change. Smoking and food addictions are probably 2 of the most well know issues that can be helped with Hypnotherapy, but really it is any issue that you feel is detrimental or disruptive to your quality of life.

There are certain individuals that will either have a harder time or may not be able to be helped with Hypnosis. Mental illness such as Schizophrenia or persons with a mental deficiency will most likely not be able to be helped, as they are either not able to maintain the concentration and relaxation needed to access their subconscious mind for an extended period of time, or they may be in a subconscious state all the time. When that happens, the connection to the present moment is not as stable, and harder to maintain for the purposes of self-realization and examination of behaviors and patterns, and beliefs.

So dear readers tonight when you find yourself drifting off to sleep take a moment and enjoy the physical sensation of that relaxed state. Enjoy the sensation that of all of your muscles are relaxed; notice how calm you feel and perhaps even hear the sound of your gentle breathing. Feel the softness of your pillow cradling your head and the warmth of your blanket. Notice how you feel peaceful, relaxed and open to receive whatever your subconscious puts forth as you are in a wonderful Hypnotic State.

They can dig up you lawn, eat your flowers, tear apart your new leather shoes, scratch a beloved piece of furniture, drop your precious china on the floor, and generally make messes and more work for you, but you love them anyway. Who is this creature? It’s none other than the family pet. Whether they have fur or feathers, scales or spikes, for many of us, our pets become part of our family. We tolerate their occasional disasters or early morning wake up calls because we receive a rare and precious gift back, the gift of unconditional love and acceptance.

Okay so it may be hard to tell if your pet fish or exotic lizard really loves you, but they do trust you to take care of them and they depend on you. An Ipsos Reid poll shows that 83% of Canadians consider their pet to be a family member with 4 in 10 believing that pets can be a good substitute for human companionship. So your pet is seen as a member of your family. You make sure it has all its basic needs met, now what?

What about your pets Spiritual well being? Don’t worry, I am not going to say that should meditate with your cat or try to find your dogs inner puppy! For some people who want to try and do that, I say more power to you! What I want to offer you is something to try that is a little more tangible and easier to do. I find that it is especially helpful for pets that can be held and touched comfortably. I have only used this technique on furry friends, but if you want to try it on your lizard or fish or other type of pet, please use appropriate cautions, and a gentle touch as always.

I have found that a combination of Reiki and EFT has been beneficial for my pet. My pet is a super hyper, very talkative (when I say talking what I mean is meowing~ a lot!), 6 year old Tuxedo cat named Treun. I don’t think she has really ever stopped talking since the day she was born except when she sleeps! I have used Reiki, which is a form of Japanese energy healing, on my cat for years with great success to the tune, that she is calmer and seems happier afterwards. With any animal knowing their temperament is important before you start any sort of energy work or healing modality. I know that my cat will let me do pretty much anything I want to her, but please dear reader, if you have a volatile pet, or are trying to help someone else’s pet, please proceed with caution or call upon a professional such as myself with more experience.

EFT or Emotional Freedom Technique is a form of acupressure which is used to help with many emotional and physical issues. On pets, it can be used to help them to become calmer in general, and help them with anxiety, which is common in pets and often exhibited as separation anxiety when the owner leaves the home. It can also be used to ease physical pains such as arthritis in elderly pets. When working with animals, generally it is better to gently massage the required points instead of tapping as that could lead to irritation and/or pain.

A recent example of how EFT and Reiki benefited my cat was that one particular day my cat Treun would not stop talking (again read this as meowing incessantly to the point where I could feel a migraine forming in my brain!), and followed me for every step I took, so much that I was tripping over her. I scooped her up and performed gentle EFT and then Reiki on her. She instantly became limp and relaxed and began to purr. After I was finished, and we could both think straight, she was much calmer for the rest of the day. The entire session with her lasted about 30 minutes as I incorporated both healing modalities on her, but because animals don’t like to stay in one spot it could take longer depending on your pet and how restless they are. Most animals will respond positively to both Reiki and EFT as they can sense that you are not there to harm them, and only want the best for them.

5 Minute MeditationAre you on a spiritual journey? Would you like to be, but can’t even imagine how to start? Who has time for that anyway, right?

What is a spiritual journey? How it is “supposed” to be? I know what I used to imagine. I imagined going away to an amazing retreat full of enlightening moments, peaceful meditations surrounded by beautiful nature, wonderful meals resplendent with fresh produce and healthy choices…..ahhhh so lovely isn’t it? Anyone could find peace and enlightenment in that setting couldn’t they? What a lovely dream that not many of us have the opportunity to experience but would love to if we had the chance.

“Mommy wake up!!!” is often shouted in my ear at the crack of dawn by my never tired 3.5 year old son. Oh yeah, I’m feeling peaceful….. not exactly the tranquil sound of nature is it? Welcome to the reality of modern spirituality, especially for a parent. Peaceful moments are few and far between, where even the sanctity of a few moments alone in the bathroom is more often than not suddenly interrupted by the crashing of the door against the wall, with urgent inquiries as to the whereabouts of the latest beloved toy. So what is a parent to do? How can a person possibly hope to work on themselves if they never get a break? The answer is to take 5 minutes a day, whenever it can be snagged to do something for you. I know that thought is crippling to many parents, but most especially to mothers I think. We moms sometimes feel that we have to do it all, but doing it all for everyone else, leaves precious little time for the most important person of all~ you.

As I type this I have dishes piled in my sink and a growing stack of laundry waiting to be washed. My floors could use a cleaning, and don’t even get me started on the paper piles! I know from experience that it can be absolutely overwhelming to contemplate trying to pause, and in the beginning even stopping for 5 minutes for some people will be hard, but do it anyway. Do what? I can hear you asking. Do what you love for at least 5 minutes. Read, dance, sing, make a great cup of tea and actually enjoy it while it’s still hot! For those 5 glorious minutes you are going to be only thinking about you. Breathe and enjoy. Take note of your senses, the smells, taste, sensations, sounds and sights. Try not to feel guilt or shame, it’s okay to cater to yourself for a little while. What does it accomplish? Well, for however much time you took, you allowed yourself to be with you, fully and completely with no interruptions. Call it modern day meditation. Didn’t it feel great? Take that feeling with you and continue on in your day. When you need to, you can then tap into those good feelings that you allowed yourself to feel. Creating a positive energy field around yourself is a big step towards mind-body-spirit healing and a great beginning step in any spiritual journey.

I have a confession. I used to daydream about food. You know that point in the day when someone catches you; your head in your hands, that dreamy look on your face? If someone asked me right at that moment what was I thinking about? I would lie. The shame of thinking about, wanting to eat and then feeling terrible because I had eaten something “bad” would overwhelm me. For example, until recently, chocolate was my addiction. Once I ate one bar, I began to dream about other types of chocolate bars that I adored and often would eat another bar or two right afterwards. Caramel and cookies enrobed in chocolate, dark chocolate with mint cream filling, crunchy nuts and nougat surrounded by a milk chocolate coating….I could not get enough! So what! you may say, big deal! Who cares what people think. In a perfect world, that would be true, but this world isn’t perfect. It’s full of judgments and opinions, and one of the most predominant is that fat people should never eat anything unhealthy, EVER. Fat people should feel shame, and loathing if they don’t order a salad and a glass of water for dinner. Every fast food commercial on television would fill me with a mix of dread and joy. Dread because I wanted to eat it all, and joy because the images were so divine.

Wait? Am I saying that I am fat that word that is often whispered with shame? F*A*T. Yes I am, and that is okay. No really. This post isn’t about fat acceptance though, at least not directly. This post is about how food ruled my life. It’s about how even though I wanted to be healthier and tried oh so many times before to do the whole kill myself at the gym, and deprive myself of certain food in the hopes that I would eventually not want it. Well none of that worked in the long term.NONE OF IT!

Willpower right? That is the answer! That is what EVERYONE says when someone cannot commit to losing weight. So that MUST be the answer because that is the problem. Personal Trainers and Doctors and friends and family all say it as does that uber slim co-worker –who- lost- so- much- weight- and- you- can –do- it- to! Right?WRONG.

Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT for short is what worked for me. Was it easy and fun and gosh so fast that the pounds just flew off and people now don’t even know who I am because I look so different???? Well yes and no. I did lose weight; so far I have lost about 15 lbs and 5 inches from my waist so I do look a little different physically. The real difference to me though is in my energy levels, and how I now feel so much more at peace, and the peace that seems to radiate from me, because I no longer have a raging, seemingly uncontrollable urge to eat junk food, or unhealthy food. I no longer daydream about food. I now eat to fuel my body, not to fuel or push down my emotions, which were literally causing me to be disabled, emotionally and physically.

EFT is a method of tapping with certain fingers on specifics points in the body. These points are called meridians, and they are also used in acupuncture. When the points are tapped, and certain statements are made, emotions, memories, physical symptoms and many other sensory cues are awakened. The mind-body-spirit connect is real. Emotional suppression or issues can lead to a whole host of physical and/or psychological issues. For many people, eating is not about food, it is about emotions and producing a feeling of comfort in their mind and body with each bite.

When I started to practice EFT on a regular and consistent basis I began to slowly work on my own personal issues, which were often not even related to food or body acceptance. Emotional issues and memories emerged that I was able to work on, many of which I had either forgotten or simply pushed down inside of myself to a deep place that I didn’t even want to know about. Do I still love food? YES! Do I want to eat food all the time or dream about food every day? NO. I still have foods that I like to eat, and sometimes I will indulge and have some small treat, and I am okay with that.

Recently at a gathering, I came upon the food table and there sat a big bowl full of mixed nuts and raisins. Healthy right? Sure, except for the candy coated chocolate that was dispersed throughout it! As I stood there looking at the bowl, I asked myself what did I feel? Did I want the nuts, raisins and chocolate? You know what I discovered? I kind of wanted the nuts, but then I’d have to take out the part I didn’t want: The chocolate. The chocolate made it too much work, so I ended up enjoying the raw vegetables instead.